tpo_dossier_action-plan-for-innovation-and-learning_201406

202.5CONTACT:BRAM MOESKOPSBRAM.MOESKOPS@IFOAM-EU.ORGWEBSITE:WWW.STOAS-PROJECT.EUSUSTAINABILITY TRAINING FOR ORGANICADVISORS (STOAS)The STOAS partners consider organic agriculture as a developmentprocess of ever increasing sustainability. In this, farm advisers havea prominent role to play. By helping farmers to come to grips withsustainability goals and their own objectives, they can motivatefarmers to go beyond the minimum organic criteria and to enhancetheir production and entrepreneurial skills in pursuit of increasing thesustainability of their farms.The STOAS project, funded by the EU’s Leonardo da Vinci’sprogramme (part of the Lifelong Learning Programme), has involvedthe partner organisations in developing the concept and use ofsustainability assessment tools and providing curricula for trainingworkshops. The workshops introduced organic farm advisers and otherprofessional stakeholders to these tools and provided practical trainingon sustainability to those working with farmers.Three Sustainability Assessment Tools: RISE, FASTand Bioland ToolOriginally developed at the Swiss College of Agriculture, Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation (RISE) was commissioned by theWorld Bank to assess the sustainability of farms in the tropics. TheResearch Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) has produced a versionfor organic farms under temperate conditions. It is both scientificallysound yet practical for use on-farm. Based on an extensive interviewwith the farmer, the RISE model calculates 68 sustainability parametersand summarises them in 10 indicators. The results are presented in aneasy-to-read ‘cobweb’ diagram.The Farm Sustainability Assessment Tool (FAST) was developed by theOrganic Research Centre. Its aim is to provide a simple, measurable andaccessible way to show 11 public good indicators that result from thefarming systems and management. As with the RISE-tool, the results ofthe assessment are presented in a cobweb diagram that can quickly beunderstood by the land manager.The Bioland Tool aims to raise awareness about the Bioland principlesof organic farming among the members of the Bioland Association. Theassessment consists of a 3-hour farm visit and interview with the landmanager. From the seven Bioland principles, two or three are chosenthat are of particular relevance to the farm. Compliance to the chosenprinciples is assessed in detail and based on this a set of goals andrecommendations are formulated.Two courses: each of two x two-day workshops,spread over 6 monthsCourse 1 is for executive staff of farmers’ associations and experiencedadvisers. Its aim is to enable organisation managers to be betterinformed generally about sustainable farming principles and practicesand the assessment tools available and to be able to develop policyand/or advisory or other services.Course 2 is for practising advisers or inspectors working with farmersand aims to integrate sustainability as the guiding principle of theservice they offer. They learn how to use the sustainability assessmenttools and explore practical measures which they can use to advisefarmers in becoming more sustainable across all aspects of their farms.The STOAS partners promote an alternative way for increasing thesustainability of the organic sector, namely by motivating farmersthrough advice, training and offering information. Rather than providingready solutions, they stimulate farmers to find solutions themselves. Thisis a dynamic, more progressive approach, and leads to more diversityand more satisfaction. Farmers take responsibility and get involved.They also develop a deeper understanding of all aspects of their farm:social, financial and governance as well as environmental.